Nighttime Lullabies

After the storm that had splitted their world in half, the sky wept for days, only interrupted by a few rare bursts of sunlight. The newly arrived ones, who had been randomly looking for shelter from the rain, used those moments to look for a place to call their own, and while some found one almost instantly, the search seemed more difficult for others.

Mael belonged to the second category. His priority had been to find a good place to stay for his Lady Fae and her younglings, and so the first few nights he had slept out in the rain, only a few steps away from where his lady was dwelling. He did not mind it too much, but he determined it would be best to look for his own spot once the opportunity arose. So he roamed the surroundings and was lucky enough to find a reasonably sized cave with a dry floor. After making sure his lady was settled, he began clearing out his cave of all debris and unneccessary rocks he might encounter, and covered the ground with leaves and moss to make it nice and warm. 

The first night in his new abode, however, took him by surprise, as he found the ceiling of his cave glowing in an unearthly teal as soon as darkness was upon it. Under closer inspection he realised that these were worms on some sort of string, much like fireflies, only without the wings, and in a completely different colour. He liked it; it made his new home seem a bit more welcoming, even if he knew that winter would soon be upon them, and that the worms would go to sleep until the sun would wake them up again next summer.

During daytime, Mael took extra care of his lady and her fledglings. Most of the herd was shaken, and especially the young ones were still frightened and hesitant. Some few fawns tried a few tentative jumps and buckings through the unfamiliar meadows, but they all stayed close to their respective parents or caretakers. The littlest ones could be found snuggled up to their mother´s bellies, and herer and there you could even here the faint sob of a particularly traumatised wee fawn. The sobs grew louder and more frequent once the night fell, and sometimes one could hear a fawn lamenting lost friends and family, or asking when they could finally return home, their hearts too young to realise that this place was, in fact, their new home, and that they would not be able to return to the place of their childhood dreams, as of now. Mael could only imagine how hard it must be for the little ones, and how scared they must have been during the whole incident. He was no coward, but he was not afraid to admit that fear had gotten hold of his heart as well at some point. His duties as lady guard and caretaker had helped him focus, and thus it had been easier for him to escape...the young ones only had their own little world, which got shattered in one second.

One night, the rain was less cruel on their newly-found dwelling place, and while the day grew darker, Mael took a bit of rest near the entrance to his cave. The glowworms reflected their light in his blind eye and made it shine like an enchanted emerald, and the raindrops on the plants just outside the cave sparkled like jewels. He lay there, enjoying the sound of the droplets on the vegetation surrounding him, when suddenly he heard a different sound - tiny hooves making their way to his den, accompanied by quiet sobbing. He turned his head to see two fawns arrive; one the very image of her mother, lest for her silver mane and tail; the other pale as a ghost, emanating a soft glow. Both were shaking.

"What are you two doing here?", he demanded to know, trying to sound not too harsh. "Does Lady Fae know you are here to see me? it is dangerous to venture on your own at night."

The two fawns looked at each other, then back at the stag, their ears pressed backwards against their heads.

"We cannot sleep", the filly began. "We keep on having nightmares, so Elodi and I were wondering if you could tell us a story to feel less scared? We didn´t want to wake Mama up."

"Please don´t be mad at us, Uncle Mael", Elodi continued. "Colleen told me how you protected her, and...and..."

He sobbed again.

"I thought staying with you and listening to you stories would help us feel less scared..."

Mael looked at both youngsters and sighed. There was no use of sending them back through rain and darkness; when they stayed with him he could make sure they would get safely back to Lady Fae once morning would break. So he rose and retreated a bit further back into his cave, so that the two little ones would have enough space for themselves. As soon as he was settled, Elodi was at his side, snuggling up against him, while Colleen draped herself across his front legs for comfort. Both fawns were still silently weeping, and he hoped his tale would help them put their little tormented souns at peace, at least for this night.

"There once was a cockchafer wh only had five legs instead of six. It had been stolen by another evil-minded cockchafer, and the spirit of the night had banished him to the moon to punish him. When the spirit learns that the thief took the cockchafer´s leg with him to the moon, it allows the cockchafer to travel up to it to retrieve it, and tells him he has to find two valiant fawns to help him. They must be pure and good at heart, and they must never ever have hurt another animal before..."

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Dangling Glows Brushes by redheadstock

Mael © SweetLittleVampire (me)
Colleen © DovieCaba
Elodi © orengel 
Fae © DatNachtmaehre